Oldest ''Literature/HarryPotter'' FanFic on FanfictionDotNet, posted by Gypsy Silverleaf on September 4, 1999. May sort-of be the only pre-''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Azkaban]]'' fic in existence. The book hadn't come out yet in the United States (yes, Virginia, there was a time when ''Harry Potter'' books weren't released worldwide on the same day) and the American author was thus only vaguely aware of the storyline. This [[{{Jossed}} explains a lot]].

The "man of unknown" is Professor Thomas Erwin, a teacher at another WizardingSchool, who seems to hate Harry for no apparent reason. Erwin was a well-loved man until Voldemort's downfall, after which he turned into a grouch and forbid the name "Harry Potter" from being spoken in his presence. It turns out [[spoiler:Erwin was James Potter's half-brother and that he's pissed because Harry got sent to live with [[MuggleFosterParents the Dursleys]] instead of him. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Realizing what a jerk he's become]], Erwin threatens to kill Dumbledore if he tells Harry the truth. The Ministry tries to arrest Erwin for this, but he escapes and lives out the rest of his life as a hermit before dying in misery. [[DownerEnding The End]]]].

Not particularly good or bad, but certainly odd. Notable mainly for being the first fic written for ''Harry Potter'', which now has the most fics on Fanfiction.net by a ''huge'' margin. You can read it [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3803/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Man_of_Unknown here]]. See [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TelyTGhr3r0 here]] to see a tongue-in-cheek version of the story acted out with the ''PotterPuppetPals''.----!!This fanfic provides examples of:

* ByronicHero: Erwin. The same author would later become the first to [[DracoInLeatherPants cast Snape as one]].* DownerEnding* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: One of the few pre-Azkaban Harry Potter fanfiction works, and so it lacks a lot of things that became more commonplace after the glut of Harry Potter fanfic that cropped up after ''Goblet of Fire''.* ElsewhereFic* {{Expy}}: Erwin is a mean teacher who wears black robes and hates Harry Potter. Sound familiar?* FatalFlaw: Erwin's jerkiness, [[spoiler:which is ultimately his undoing]].* FreudianExcuse* {{Jossed}}: The author assumed Harry was going to be actually sent to Azkaban in the third book and that Lupin would still be teaching in Harry's fourth year. Also, Erwin seems to Apparate within Hogwarts.* MyGodWhatHaveIDone* ReCut: Gypsy reworked the story in mid 2001, mainly to RetCon the bits contradicted by the third and fourth books. This version can be seen on her website and [=FictionAlley=], but the original version remains on Fanfiction.net.* TragicHero: Erwin, very much so.* UltimateJobSecurity: Madam Tatooli, the headmistress of Sharadine School, hasn't fired Erwin because he's just that good a teacher.* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Dumbledore in Erwin's opinion. The story somewhat agrees with him.** If her other works are any indication, so does the author.* WizardingSchool: Sharadine School. Hogwarts also shows up.----